Tag: Alice in Wonderland

In a world exploding with 3D printers and landfills full of old junk, there’s something refreshing about toys that start out as paper and end up as, well, more paper. In fact, you can print these toys at home, build them yourself, store them in a folder, and recycle them when you’re done. And you don’t have to untie 47 little twisty ties and cut tape out of anybody’s hair. It’s fantastic. Check that–it’s Fantastic Toys, an Etsy shop filled with retro-designy worlds you print and build yourself. From dollhouses complete with furniture and landscaping to Alice in Wonderland playsets to...

Why settle for #2 pencils when these literary pencils are bound to be #1 on any bookish kid’s school supply list? Whether you’ve got a tween into Harry Potter and Ramona Quimby or a teen with a soft spot for Alice or a hankering to be Divergent, those plain yellow wood pencils on the school supply list are yesterday’s news. Bouncing Ball Creation on Etsy hand-rolls #2 pencils with book pages to create pencils that will please the most persnickety teacher and amuse the writer. Each set includes five standard pencils, pre-sharped and ready for the first day of school,...

“Let life be merry” with gorgeous literary temporary tattoos that let you flaunt your favorite books without needles or accidental misspellings. We’re big fans of Litograph, since we first discovered their awesome literary tees. And now they’ve launched Litograph literary tattoos via a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign. There are some great classics on the list, each quote made even more powerful and pretty through hip design and modern typography. Shakespeare, Jack London, Jane Austen, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (for you Sherlock fans) are all represented. The Litograph creators have even perfected their designs and technique by working with a Hollywood FX studio...

Ooh, do we have Alice in Wonderland tea party ideas for you. It’s such a wonderful theme, isn’t it? And when a superhero, Lego, or Star Wars birthday party isn’t quite right, it might be time to break out the tea set for a very merry unbirthday tea party. Or, if your curious one prefers, a Mad Hatter birthday tea party. Either way, it’s always tea time. Inspired by our sponsor, Bigelow Tea, a third generation family-owned business (so cool, we had no idea!), we’ve rounded up the best ideas, from simple recipes to free printables and fun decor, so...

We’re divided on kids’ Halloween costumes around Cool Mom Picks. Some of us spend a good few months planning, sewing, and executing the most wonderful costumes, while the rest of us are happy just finding some Halloween costume shortcuts and knowing our kids will look adorable either way. If you’re still looking for inspiration, or just want to ogle the effort and creativity (and uh, free time) of other parents, here are 22 amazing, outrageous, and inspired kids Halloween costumes that make us smile every time. –Liz Little Old Lady (Costume Works, above) Chief Brody from Jaws costume (via Think Geek)...

Shirts with a book cover or favorite quote are pretty cool. But you get even more bibliophile points for wearing a shirt with the entire book’s text permanently embedded in the fabric. If you loved these book posters we covered, get ready to shop. Wordies, listen up. The Litographs site is heaven for bibliophiles. They take your favorite classic books and use 75,000 words from the text to create interesting designs that go with the story. And then you can have it hand printed (front and back) on a soft cotton/poly blend shirt, poster, or bag in a variety...

We don’t know about you, but with summer in full swing and later sunsets/later bedtimes a fact of life, we’ve been indulging in quite a few family movie nights. As we look for some new ideas, it’s been super fun digging into our Netflix accounts to find some of our own childhood favorites to introduce to the next generation. And now we get to share them with you too, thanks to our sponsor Netflix Families. If you’ve checked out the new Just for Kids section on Netflix, you’ll know it’s super easy finding great movies and shows for kids...

I’m not usually one for fake flowers around the house–I much prefer the real thing. But when they’re as cool and crafty as these, I could easily make an exception. Julie Romero’s Handmade Paper Flowers are all made to order with 50 blooms crafted from recycled books. I happen to like the ones from classics like Pride and Prejudice and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; but you can also find popular favorites like The Notebook or Twilight. (Although shouldn’t those be dead flowers? Anyway.) It’s a cool gift for a writerly type, a literary lover, or just someone who appreciates...

I still remember, before I had kids, being so excited to get a friend’s new baby a set of classic books like Alice and Wonderland and Peter Pan–and the way she looked at me when she said her daughter would love them in 10 years or so. Hey, I still thought it was cool, but with these baby book gift sets I found, at least the mom to be can start reading them at the very first bedtime. –Liz Peter Rabbit book collection: Traditionalists will love this Beatrix Potter collection, and though what’s outside a book is never more...

Jennifer Adams and Allison Oliver hooked us with their beautiful BabyLit counting and color board books based on classic literature like Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre. They’ve done it again–this time, with a counting Count Dracula. Little Master Stoker’s Dracula is a very different counting count, spookier than the snuggly number-maestro of Sesame Street, and perfect for Halloween. Just a little bit dark (think semisweet chocolate), and just as modern and pretty as the other books in the BabyLit family, Dracula uses imagery from Bram Stoker’s original Dracula tale to teach counting from one to ten. The illustrations are atmospheric and...

Paper dolls are the perfect emergency boredom-buster to have on hand, at least if you’re our family; every fall, a bunch of annoying colds and coughs descend on my children, leaving at least one of them at any given time home on a school day, moaning “I’m boooooored.” I’m loving this wonderful Etsy find as an alternative to 12-hour movie marathons. We’re already big fans of the gorgeous collectible carved Alice in Wonderland dolls at Etsy shop Cart Before the Horse, but we’re so happy to find their awesome articulated paper-animal dolls which are just as lovely. Just cut...

I’ll admit it–puzzles don’t normally pique my curiosity. But when you combine a beautiful painting with intricate laser-cut wood pieces that are works of art in themselves, you have me grinning like a Cheshire Cat. Artifact Puzzles is pure puzzle genius, with offerings like we’ve never seen. Alice in Wonderland by artist Justin Hillgrove is just one option–they’ve got tons of others to charm you as well. Each sophisticated puzzle is laser-cut of 1/4″ thick wood in the most interesting shapes. From cats to octopi and teacups to toadstools, these are not your average wiggly bits. And they’re not for...

Love fairy tales and classic family movies but not interested in the commercial studio posters for your kids’ rooms? We’ve found just the answer. These gorgeously atmospheric and evocative posters from artist Christian Jackson are a beautiful way to decorate with the fairy tales you love and the sophisticated colors you might prefer. Each image perfectly condenses an entire story, like Mary Poppins above, into one iconic design that really opens up imagination options for kids of all ages. Your daughter loves Rapunzel, but good gravy, that’s a lot of lavender and pink. Instead of decals and licensed characters,...

Girls’ birthday party ideas can still be girlie, even if you want to avoid the same old princess theme. Which is why I instantly fell in love with the downloadable, customizable party kits at Creative Little Stars, based around classic storybook themes. And they’re super affordable too. Any party planner worth her salt will tell you that setting the mood is 50% of the party. (Planning for fun is the other half of course!) And any mom planning a kid’s birthday will tell you that paying a fortune for them is not ideal. Through Creative Little Stars, for less...

Good news, bibliophiles! Your toddlers can now enjoy Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre, and not just as teething toys. Thanks to gorgeous illustrations and clever literary touches, you might enjoy this collection of amazing board books at bedtime even more than they do. The BabyLit board books by Jennifer Adams are so fantastic that I want to keep them all for myself. Whether you’re learning colors with Alice in Wonderland or counting with Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, or Romeo & Juliet (as seen in our Baby Shower Gift Guide), the books work on a lot of levels...

I want my kids to be book lovers, as in sneak a flashlight under the covers, beg for a nighttime story, know their way around the library kind of book lovers. So along with a sturdy bookshelf packed with favorite childhood titles and their very own library card, I love these prints that turn a storybook into something as magical as the story itself: Art. Spineless Classics takes those beloved stories like Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan and the Wizard of Oz and uses the words to form an image from the story, like Peter Pan with Tinkerbell or...

I’m such a huge Alice in Wonderland fan that I spent no less than five days trying to come up with just the right title to pay homage to this amazing Etsy find. And I love it so much that threatening my children with imaginary monsters was my final choice. And I stand by it. GIMME THE ALICE DOLL, AND NOBODY GETS HURT BY THE JUB-JUB BIRD. Ahem. So I really like this Alice folk doll set which is one of the many storytime character folk dolls by Etsy’s Cart Before the Horse, a mom-and-dad business out of Portland,...

For all the eye-goggling special effects and “3D everything” in kids’ movies nowadays, the 60-year-old Alice in Wonderland will still leave your kids’ mouths agape as it still does mine, no funny glasses needed. If you want to take your kids down the rabbit hole, now is a great time to do it because the Disney vault has opened to let a shinier, brighter and Blu-ray’d Alice out for a little while. Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland’s 60th Anniversary Edition may be a familiar story to most, but I was blown away with how gorgeous this remastered version looks, from...

The story of Alice in Wonderland involves a tea party, funny little cakes, a menagerie of characters and lots of adventure. In other words, all the ingredients for a kid-friendly birthday party, as my daughter has recently discovered for herself. When she inevitably decides she MUST have an Alice in Wonderland party, I’m going straight to Paper & Cake. Paper & Cake has already rescued me once from store-bought monotony with their adorable pirate party printables, and now the team of Abigail and Kira have created all the cute decorations I need to throw a cool “unbirthday” for my very...

We all know Alice in Wonderland is crazy hip right now, but let’s be honest – not all Alicey-items are swoon-worthy. This one, however? Is. The collection of Alice in Wonderland themed tees at Pajama Squid come to you from Australia’s Heavenly Creatures. Each super soft, super stripey cap-sleeved or classic kids’ t-shirt has a cotton patch featuring a different classic illustration. The white rabbit on that navy-and-white striped classic tee would be adorable on little boys too. The combination of simple pen-and-ink artwork on the bold stripes is a pretty delish retro-modern/one-of-a-kind-looking combo. I really wish they made...